Happy Valentine's Day!

I saw this print over on Pinterest not too long ago and instantly had to pin it. Jeremy and I are always joking about how we're the most awesome couple we know so it seemed perfect for us! I don't make prints or anything but I decided this would be a cute little embroidery to give him for Valentine's Day.


I stitched it up Sunday while watching some Disney movies. I have no idea where I got this little square frame but isn't it so cute?! It's about 3" x 3", I thought it was the perfect size, not too overwhelming or anything. I will be giving this to him this afternoon. We are having a Valentine's Day lunch together.

Side Note:
Why we had lunch instead of dinner...
I just started working second shift last week. I work from 3pm -11pm and he works from 5am - 5pm (you read that correct, he works 12 hour days and then Saturdays too...he's a lunatic.) He is fast asleep before I even get out of work. At first I was really upset when my boss asked me to switch shifts. I mean it still sucks because I don't see Jeremy as much anymore. I was also upset because I figured I'd be like a vampire and didn't know when the hell I would be able to do some of the things I love. Like go to Joann's, the library, not grocery shop or do laundry at midnight, etc. I figured out a different kind of sleeping pattern though, not the normal wake up, work, then do other life stuff that I've been so used to. I get up around 11am and have a few hours to do whatever I want before work. I can crochet, do laundry, go to the library or shopping all before going to work. Then I get out at 11pm, go home and watch a movie, eat a little something, read and go to sleep. I like being able to get up before work to do stuff and not feel like my whole day is JUST for going to work anymore.

Anyway...
Jeremy had to take a half day off work today to go to the dentist. This all happened yesterday so it fell together nicely. We will be getting lunch after his appointment! I'm stoked because I didn't even think I'd see him.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and get to spend it with the ones you love!

Jamie

Valentine's Day Swap...Sent

Last month I signed up for the Oh Strumpets Valentine's Day Swap. I'm so glad I did because I really branched out with the type of crafts I usually do. I'm not really a hearts and pink kind of girl. This gave me the perfect excuse to look for fun heart fabric and all kinds of pink and red felt.

I knew right away that I wanted to make a bunting for my partner, Erin. Not for any particular reason other than, who the hell doesn't love a good bunting?! While at Joann's I found these two coordinating glittery heart fabrics. Although the fabrics themselves are kind of busy, I felt just the fabric by itself would be a little boring. I decided to cut out some hearts from that sticky backed felt to add. I originally went a little far and added white hearts with red X's and O's on the other flags but it was WAY too much so I got rid of those! I also used some pink thread and a zigzag stitch to attach it all together.




Also, while I was at Joann's I milled around in the area with Valentine's Day decorations to find some other fun tidbits to send my partner. I saw some cute little heart ornaments. They were a bit on the country clutter side though. You know what I mean? With the burlap, red gingham fabric and twine? It wasn't my taste but it gave me an idea...I could make my own stuffed heart ornaments!! I did a tutorial yesterday if you want to make some of your own! These are the three I sent Erin, I hope she likes them!



This was such a fun swap. Like I said, I branched out of my so called "comfort zone" and used different types of fabrics and themes than I normally would have. It was nice and refereshing. Plus now I have a few of the heart ornaments of my own!
I can't wait to see what Erin made for me!!

A special thanks to Becky and Olivia for organzing this awesome swap together over on Oh Strumpets!


Jamie

How to Make a Valentine's Day Heart Ornament

For today I present you with my first tutorial!! I am super duper excited and I really hope you try and make some of these on your own. They aren't hard at all and make the cutest Valentine's Day decorations. You could also hang them up whenever you want to bring a bit of love into your home anytime of year!

So let's get started!


1. Supplies:
Felt in any color you want
Fabric to compliment the felt
Embroidery Floss also to compliment your felt and fabric choices
Ribbon
Scissors and an Embroidery needle
(Not Pictured) A scrap piece of cardboard and some sort of stuffing - fiber fill, scrap pieces of fabric or yarn, etc.


2. Stencil
You will want to draw a heart onto your cardboard. Also draw a smaller heart to cut out of the center.
Cut out your stencil.
I drew this by hand but I have a feeling some heart cookie cutters would be the perfect template!


3. Felt
You will want to fold your felt in half and pin together.
Trace your heart stencil, the outside and the center.
Cut the largest heart out from both pieces of felt.
***Now if you kept your felt pinned together while cutting out the large heart UNPIN NOW!!!!***
Cut the center heart out of only ONE piece of felt.
(in a sleepy, crafty stooper I cut the center out of both sides of felt twice! You read that right, TWICE!! I'm a genius kids, a pure genius!)


4. Fabric
Trace the large heart onto your pretty fabric.
Trim around the outside a bit so that it is smaller than the big heart but still larger than the center.


5. Sew Fabric to Felt
Pin your fabric to the felt heart with the center cut out.
Stich around the center heart to attach your fabric.


6. Add detail
If you want, now would be the time to add any cute little details to the back heart. Make sure you embroider on the side that will face out.
I did this so that if the heart spins around, it will still look super cute!


7. Sew Felt Together
You will want to cut a piece of ribbon long enough to hang wherever you choose.
Pin this ribbon to the front piece of felt.
Pin the two sides together and embroider about 3/4 of the way around.
Make sure you stitch over the ribbon so it is nice and secure.
*Tip* Start your embroidery on the inside so that the knot does not show on the back of the ornament.


8. Stuff your ornament
Once you get to about the 3/4 mark you will want to stuff the ornament.
Don't overstuff or it might get kind of puckered looking (unless this is the look you are going for then by all means, stuff away!)
Once stuffed, continue stitching your ornament closed.
*Tip* Tie your knot on the inside so it doesn't show on your ornament either.


Now you can admire your adorable new heart ornament!!



I love all the different felt and fabric combos I came up with. All the emboidered details were just off the top of my head too.

I hope you try to make some of these for yourself or as a gift. If you do, leave me a link so I can see it too!

Have a lovely day friends!



Jamie

Some Gifts for the Bestie

This year I made Liz a few different presents.

First I made her these adorable decopauge ornaments. Normally I don't like to give people Christmas themed presents, it kind of seems like a cop out to me. However, in November I saw a picture of decopauged ornaments like these and I instantly wanted to make them for her. I know that she loves things made from old book pages so these just made sense. I headed to the thrift store looking for an old book that I could tear up. The only suitable one I found happened to be an old Algebra book from one of the high schools around here. It seemed pretty appropriate since her boyfriend has a Math degree. I figure next year they can put these on their tree! I jazzed them up with some glitter glue and ribbons too. She loved them a ton which is always the best response to a gift!




A while ago I saw a print someone did of a stylized tree with a heart and carved initials. I don't really make prints but I remembered seeing this wood patterned fabric in my interweb travels. An idea started to form in the crafty part of my brain. I headed to Etsy and found a fat quarter of the exact fabric I wanted, just enough for the idea I had. My idea was to embroider a heart with "Liz & Larry" in it (obviously Larry is her boyfriend). Initials just seemed too plain so I went with full names. I mean even the full names is fairly simple but I think the image and idea of it is so sweet. I used the same Maximum Rabbit tutorial to make the hoop nice and puffy and the back finished.



Last but not least I made her a new tampon carry case. One of the very first things I ever sewed for Liz (and a bunch of other people) was a tampon carry case. I heard her mention on Halloween that she needed a new one. BOOM Christmas present idea stored in my head! This one I made a lot better though (well some of the execution is a bit wonky but that's what I get for leaving shit to the very last possible second, literally). Instead of just a pouch, I added a pocket and made 4 separate compartments for the tampons. I thought I had some good fabric that I could use in my stash. Once I looked throught them, I didn't think she'd like most of them or I just couldn't find anything good to coordinate. I'm not totally in love with these two fabrics but oh well, live and learn. They looked nice when I layed them next to each other but once put together, I was a bit underwhelemed. Anyway, it will serve it's purpose.



I also gave her this adorable purse made by LoverlyForYou.



She loved everything which is always the point!
Hope you're having an awesome week!

Jamie

Gifts for Mom

Not too long ago Mrs. Priss posted a tutorial to make little felt flowers. I thought they were so stinky adorable but what the hell would I ever do with them? I'm not really a flower kind of girl but I bookmarked the post anyway because I knew other people would enjoy them and I could find a use at some point.

Also, as I mentioned here my mom just moved to Arizona a few months ago. When she lived in PA she had a real house and tons of gardens. She had a garden in front of the kitchen that she refered to as her "Old English Garden", it was just a mish mash of lots of beautiful and colorful flowers. I even helped her plant some of them. She also had a lily garden that went all the way around her greenhouse that was SO beautiful!! She even had a shade garden of different ground covering type plants along the fence because it didn't get much light there. In the back yard she had a vegetable garden which I think I will miss the most. There's nothing quite like making a salad with tomatoes your mom grew. Not to mention her greenhouse full of different cacti and houseplants. Needless to say, my mother is one hell of a gardener and has two giant green thumbs. Now that she lives in an apartment in Arizona, she doesn't have her gardens anymore.
When I was thinking of what to make her for Christmas, I remembered the felt flower tutorial! I decided I would make her some little stump work emrboidery hoop gardens that she can hang in her apartment. I chose a theme of all blue flowers because she really loves the color blue, in all shades she loves blue!




Keep craftin' kids!

Jamie

Spoon Necklace

Today is my sister, Jessie's 26th birthday. I showed you two of the things I got her from the Renegade Craft Fair last month but I also made her something. Remember a while ago I got a little drill and had plans to drill and embroidery all kinds of stuff? Well I finally drilled and embroidered my first thing as a gift for Jessie! It is a big soup spoon turned into a necklace.
Jeremy helped me drill the holes after I marked where I wanted them. He didn't realize I was making the spoon into a necklace and thought I was just going to hang it on my wall or something. He said he would have done a better job of making sure the holes were lined up correctly. I think they came out just fine. He then took the spoon to work with him and filed off all the sharp edges the holes left on the back as well as bending and cutting the handle into a loop for a chain to go through. Now that I watched him do it I'm sure I can do it myself next time. I just need to get safety glasses (his were too big on me so that is why he ended up drilling the holes), a big metal file for the rough edges left over and a clamp to hold it so I can bend the handle.
Jessie's favroite color is a burgundy, violet, redish color. I used 3 colors of thread for this spoon starting with the darkest on the left and getting slightly lighter toward the right. It's not hugely noticable that there are multiple colors but that's ok. I'm pretty stoked at how this turned out regardless!!



This is the back, I just glued some fabric on because you could see the back stitches a little when wearing it since the spoon is curved.


I just hope she likes it as much as I do!

Thirft Haul

Saturday I went to the VNA Sale in Jersey. It is right near the town I went to high school in, they have it twice a year and I have gone almost every year since I was in high school. All the proceeds go to the Visiting Nurse Association and there are sooo many goodies!

I was actually really good this year and made sure to just focus on what I knew I wanted and didn't buy any random stuff that I don't have room for in my apartment or will just end up in a drawer. I also didn't go into the movie tent. There was a huge wait and I was pooped from walking all over already.
I did get some pretty stuff though!

I have a huge love for tiny, round and oval picture frames. I have absolutely no idea why but I just can't pass them up! I also got 4 tiny little handmade doilys and I know exactly what I am going to do with them! There were so many handmade things being sold that it made me a little sad. I got to thinking about all the stuff I have and will be making people over the years, I hope none of it ever ends up at a Rummage Sale =(


I got some sweet Aida fabric which I can always find a use for!


I found these amazing embroidery books, a lot of the stuff in them are for 70's-ish folk art stuff which I looove!! There are so many things in these books I want to make!


I love all things Egyptian and I could not pass up this fabric. It's only a yard and I have no idea what I will do with it but it's so pretty!!


And my favoite score for the day is this book "A Pictoral History of Horror Movies"!! It is in amazing shape, only a few tears on the cover at the bottom of the binding but everything else is perfect. There are so many sweet movie posters in color and then all kinds of behind the scenes black and white photos and what not. I love it!






I also got some cardigans and shirts but they are in the hamper at the moment.
So this is everything I got, I'm totally satisified and can't wait for the October Sale, hehe!!

Have a great day everyone! I am taking my Sales Licensing test at 11:00am and I am sooo nervous!!

There will be Holes in Everything!

A while ago (I don't even remember when but I know it was 3 seats before where I sit at work now so it was a while) I saw this feature on Mr. X Stitch and was completely blown away.
After that, it was always in the back of my head that I wanted to cross stitch on metal or wood or anything random really. So as I've mentioned before, I've been feeling in a bit of a funk and I just want to try something new! Then the other day while at work I remembered wanting to try that and I mentioned it to Jeremy. I always tell him my crafting plans, the text convo went like this...

Me: "I really need a drill, with little drills"
Him: "What size?"
Me: "Tiny, so I can drill things and then embroider it"
Him: "Ok, I'll get you small drills. And I will stop at home depot tonight and pick you up a lil cordless drill. Not a bulky one like I have. Or do you think I should go to a craft store for a craft drill?"
Me: "Really?!?!"
Him: "Yea?"
Me: "You are the greatest!!!"
Him: "I strive for greatness."
Me: "Well you far exceed it! You spoil me, ya know that?"
Him: "Yup, I spoil out of love."

Heheheeee!! So seriously, he is way too good to me. He changed his mind and decided that we should go together so I could get one I like. Friday night before dinner we went to Home Depot and he got me the cutest little cordless screw gun and attachments for tiny drills. It even came with a little carry pouch and I had the perfect sticker from Erin to put on it!




I haven't drilled anything yet but it is on my to do list this week, I am sooo excited!!

I of course will post pictures of what I make/destroy/turn into swiss cheese in the process!!

Embroidery Floss

I used to have a tiny plastic container to store my embroidery floss in. My floss collection eventually outgrew it and I asked for a bigger container for Christmas. I got one but then I forgot I need the little plastic spools to wrap the floss around. I just bought all these new spools and spent a couple hours wrapping up my floss. It's all so nice and pretty and organized now. However, this container is so big it is only half full. I guess I need to buy more =P

Just some gratuitous shots of it all nice and organized, the colors make me so happy!




Now if I could only find a way to organize all my yarn a little better!

Keep Calm and Bake On

My friend Shannon's birthday isn't actually until the 24th but we needed an excuse to have a party and meet some of our other friends' new significant others. Saturday was "The Event". We hung out, drank, played games, the normal shenannigans and had an over all awesome time. I keep seeing this "Keep Calm and Carry On" mantra all over the place, which I don't totally understand. I guess because I'm a spazz. Anyway, I decided to do a little play on words and how perfect is it that I have a ton of this cupcake fabric laying around?!




I really hate what my camera's flash does to thread and how it can wash out fabric. I also hate how just the dim, crappy light in my apartment can make the fabric and thread a little darker looking that it is when the flash isn't on. I really need to make an effort to take pictures during the day using natural light!
On a happier note, I totally freehanded the lettering. I didn't put anything on the fabric first and then trace...I just went with the flow and am so happy with the results!

One more Kitty

I had made these two other Domestic Kitties for Jessie a few months ago. In reality I started them all a long time ago but never finished them.
Her one main Christmas present that she asked for this year was an apron. My sewing machine was sort of broken until Sunday so I had to come up with a back up plan in case I didn't get it fixed in time.
Luckily! I fixed it and felt pretty damn proud of myself that I was able to figure out what was wrong and then that I could fix it! (The feet that pull the fabric through the machine dropped down and the thing that I slide so that it pushes them back up, wasn't pushing them. So I just pushed them up and clicked them in place myself, yay!)
In the meantime I finished this kitty which was about 90% done. I just had to finish the scarf, ground and add a border.







Thanks for looking!